Packs' twin terrors

They’re soft-spoken off the mats, but hard-spoken on them — so let’s meet the Mitchells — Alek and Kaleb.

“Oh man, I’ll tell you what, just watching those two wrestle each other in practice is amazing,” Glacier coach Mark Fischer said.

“It will get to a point where they are angry with each other because they are so competitive. Then after practice they are working with each other to make each other better.”

The two Wolfpack freshmen standouts have wasted little time in making a name for themselves. Kaleb is the top ranked AA wrestler at 98 pounds and has proven to a tough customer on the mats, fashioning a brilliant 24-2 record.

Alek has also been impressive. He’s currently ranked No. 4 in AA at the same weight class and owns a 13-7 record.

The two brothers will most likely be the top seeds this weekend at the Western AA seeding tournament at Missoula Big Sky. Both are expected to advance to state the following weekend in Billings.

Kaleb has been wrestling at 98 all season, while Alek dropped down to that weight class after spending the early portion of the season at 105.

“We thought it was a great idea (to have both at 98) because they are so similar to each other,” Fischer said.

“Kaleb was wrestling with all the better kids in the state and beating them. Alek was a little bit small for 105. Just getting down to 98, we knew those two would be very dominating there.”

Fischer said Kaleb has been taken down just twice this year.

“I would say neutral,” Fischer said of where Kaleb is the toughest.

“I would say both are very dominant on top.”

Fischer said the twins have not only been a joy to work with, but have been a great addition to the team.

“One of the things about those two, they are both good students,” he said.

“They are good leaders in the sense they show the team what a good all-around student athlete is. Having the other kids watch those two go at it in practice, they say ‘Look at those guys. I can do that.’ They lead by example in the (wrestling) room, also.”

The Mitchells are no strangers to wrestling, having paid their dues with Little Guy programs in Billings and Kalispell. Both were multi-time state champions.

Alek and Kaleb would also wrestle in the basement of their home on a wrestling mat  purchased by their father. That also spared damaging the family furniture upstairs.

“We spent a lot of time wrestling with my brother (Brandon),” Kaleb said.

“My dad helped us with moves.”

So, who’s the better wrestler?

“We’re both tough,” they responded.

“We’re both about the same,” Kaleb added.

“We go back and forth.”

“Sometimes a little bit,” Alek said of having tempers flare.

“But not too bad.”

Kaleb said jealousy has never been a problem.

“We’re best friends,” he said.

“He’s always someone to hang out with,” Kaleb continued.

“Probably (what I cherish the most) is how he helps me reach my goals and how he pushes me to get better.”

Alek echoed those feelings.

“He’s always there for me,” he said.

“If I’m not feeling so good, he’s just there to help me. If I forget to do something, he helps me do it.”

“It’s nice to have good competition with it,” Alek said of his daily practice battles with his brother.

“It makes you a lot better.”

Kaleb said Alek is the toughest when he’s on top.

“He turns a lot of people, pins them,” he said.

Alek said Kaleb is most difficult to deal with when he’s on his feet.

“He has good shots,” Alek said.

“He follows through with them, finishes them.”

Since Alek dropped down to 98, the two have shared varsity time at that weight class. When one is wrestling varsity, the other usually wrestles JV.

“It’s definitely tougher at 105,” Alek said.

“It wasn’t a big move. I was just light and I was gonna go down.”

Much to their delight, this weekend and next weekend they will not be sharing competitive varsity mat time as each school can enter two wrestlers in all 15 weight classes. Both are penciled in the starting lineup for the Wolfpack.

They do, however, share the same individual goal — being a state champ.

The second goal for both is to help Glacier finish in the top three at state.

And how do they feel about the possibility of facing each other in the seeding tournament final, or even the state final?

“It would be (special),” Kaleb said.

“It would be cool,” Alek said.

“It would be crazy,” added Kaleb.